GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR PR TO BE BASED IN LUGANO, SWITZERLAND

"The establishment of our Global Alliance Center at the University of Lugano is a historic day in the history of our organization, designed to secure global co-ordination and leadership for the public relations profession, in all its diversity," said Colin Farrington, Chairman of the Global Alliance and Director General of the UK professional body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

"A number of factors convinced us that the University of Lugano - which has established itself as a competence center for public relations and communications - is the right place for us," explained Colin. "We have collaborated successfully with the University over the past years, in particular in establishing scholarships for the Executive Master of Science in Communications Management (MScom) Program, which has proved to be a leader in the area of executive education of communications managers. Those factors as well as Switzerland's long-standing tradition of hosting NGOs and international associations make it a perfect fit. It will provide a new impetus in our plans to improve global collaboration in areas such as training and education, ethical standards and good practice'

Heading the new Global Alliance Center at the University of Lugano will be Nina Volles, General Secretary. She will be supported by Jennifer Hayes, Executive Officer. In a first phase, the main activities of the Global Alliance will be focused on membership relations, budget management, sponsorship recruitment and organization of events. In a second phase, the Global Alliance Center will help to drive international standards for education and communication management as well as supporting applied research on aspects of global interest for the profession.

"It is an honor to be involved with the Global Alliance," said Nina Volles. "Communications is increasingly becoming internationalized and professional associations need to reflect that trend. The Global Alliance want to be at the forefront of that process and a driver of setting standards and sharing best practices in our field."

About the Global Alliance
The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management is the umbrella organisation linking PR Professional Associations worldwide. The Global Alliance builds on the cooperative efforts of PR Professional Bodies (who build on the cooperative efforts of PR Professionals) to tackle common problems with a global perspective. By partnering with national bodies to increase professionalism in Public Relations, this Alliance works to enhance the influence of the Public Relations industry among its constituents around the world. www.globalalliancepr.org

Università della Svizzera italiana
The University of Lugano (Università della Svizzera italiana/USI) was founded in 1996. As a public institution, it is part of the Swiss university system that comprises nine cantonal universities and two Federal Institutes of Technology. It is an academic competence center for communications research and the only Swiss university with a fully-fledged communications faculty and extensive experience in executive education for communication professionals. Students and faculty come from 40 different countries around the world. Benefiting from a unique geographic, and cultural location, USI is a distinguished multilingual and multicultural university, with a broad international outlook. www.unisi.ch